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9 Mar 2016

The Importance of Social Media to your Brand

Online word of mouth marketing has increased in popularity over the years, so it has become an important area for marketers to look at. One important point to raise it keeping your brand advocates satisfied.

According to a report from statistics giant Nielsen, 53% of social media users follow some form of brands and seek to engage with them. That means more than half of the users on social networks feel that they have some sort of connection with brands. The numbers are mind boggling, with Nielsen telling us a large portion users turn to social media during many phases of purchasing cycle, particularly when researching.

And so it makes sense that you position your brand alongside these socially active advocates. It isn’t intrusive or obstructive either. Flick through some of your favourite websites, and I’m sure you will be exposed to prompts suggesting you share pages and actions with your friends and family.

Of course, consumers have the power to protect others from bad experiences or to exact a small form of punishment to brands by venting frustrations to their networks. But that only strengthens the argument that your brand needs to be socially active. You need to be there to appease the disgruntled and to recognise and thank your ambassadors.

Everyday life now includes social media and this online form of word of mouth marketing does not seem to be going away anytime soon. Make sure that you are in the same places as your customers. Find their networks, settle in, and begin interacting with those who have something to say about you.

By ensuring that you have covered all of the popular social networks, you will invariably be much closer to your customers than ever before. Expectations from consumers of any industry have developed in such a way that not having a social network presence comes as a mild surprise.

In short, being visible on various forms of social media will allow your customers to swear their loyalty to you in public. They’re using this channel, and so should you.